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War
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“Had I finished off France in '39, then world history would have taken another course. But then I had to wait until 1940. Then a two-front war, that was bad luck. After that, even we were broken.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) first seen 1942 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a meeting with Mannerheim, 4 June 1942
“Soldiers of the Reich! This day, you are to take part in an offensive of such importance that the whole future of the war may depend on its outcome. More than anything else, your victory will show the whole world that resistance to the power of the German Army is hopeless.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) first seen 1943 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a message to German soldiers at the start of the Battle of Kursk, 5 July 1943, as quoted in Kursk by Rupert Matthews
“The war is lost!”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding the fate of World War II (1945), as quoted in "Defeat of Hitler: Enter the Bunker" (2010), The History Place
“It is untrue that I or anybody else in Germany wanted war in 1939.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In his Last Political Testament, 29 April 1945
“The god of war has gone over to the other side.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement to Alfred Jodl, after losses in the Battle of Stalingrad, as quoted in The Second World War: An Illustrated History (1979) by A. J. P. Taylor
“If the Italians hadn't attacked Greece and needed our help, the war would have taken a different course. We could have anticipated the Russian cold by weeks and conquered Leningrad and Moscow. There would have been no Stalingrad.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tell people that war is an evil, and they will laugh; for who does not know it? Tell them that patriotism is an evil, and most of them will agree, but with a reservation. "Yes," they will say, "wrong patriotism is an evil; but there is another kind, the kind we hold." But just what this good patriotism is, no one explains.”
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) first seen 1896 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Patriotism, or Peace? (1896), translated by Nathan Haskell Dole
“The Quakers sent me books, from which I learnt how they had, years ago, established beyond doubt the duty for a Christian of fulfilling the command of non-resistance to evil by force, and had exposed the error of the Church's teaching in allowing war and capital punishment.”
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Iran and Iraq have been at war for five years now. The traditional present for a fifth anniversary is wood. Here's a gift suggestion: a big stick to beat some goddamned sense into their heads.”
P. J. O'Rourke (1947–2022) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Year in Review" in Rolling Stone (19 December 1985)
“War will exist as long as there's a food chain.”
P. J. O'Rourke (1947–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War is a great asshole magnet.”
P. J. O'Rourke (1947–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Corn is the sinews of war.”
François Rabelais (1494–1553) said by 1553 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Francis Rabelais
“The House of Peers, thoughout the war Did nothing in particular And did it very well.”
W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) said by 1911 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even a fool could see that one didn't need a war, nuclear or otherwise, to destroy oneself; the rising cost of weaponry could do that quite nicely.”
Stanisław Lem (1921–2006) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Peace on Earth (1987), tr. Elinor Ford (1994) from Pokój na Ziemi, Ch. 1
“Science is turning into a monastery for the Order of Capitulant Friars. Logical calculus is supposed to supersede man as moralist. We submit to the blackmail of the "superior knowledge" that has the temerity to assert that nuclear war can be, by derivation, a good thing, because this follows from simple arithmetic.”
Stanisław Lem (1921–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Faith as well as science endowed the visible world with properties that eliminated blind, incalculable chance as the author of all events. The war of good and evil present in all religions does not always end, in every faith, with the victory of good, but in every one it establishes a clear order of existence. The sacred as well as the profane rests on that universal order...”
Stanisław Lem (1921–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When fascism comes to America, it will not be in brown and black shirts. It will not be with jack-boots. It will be Nike sneakers and Smiley shirts … Germany lost the Second World War. Fascism won it. Believe me, my friend.”
George Carlin (1937–2008) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Real Time with Bill Maher, September 9, 2005
“The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line. The objection to it is not that it is predominantly painful, but that it is lacking in sense.”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) first seen 1926 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Baltimore Evening Sun (9 August 1926)
“The course of the United States in World War II, I said, was dishonest, dishonorable, and ignominious, and the Sunpapers, by supporting Roosevelt's foreign policy, shared in this disgrace.”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: October 24, 1945
“This combat between proletariat and plutocracy is, after all, itself a civil war. Two inferiorities struggle for the privilege of polluting the world.”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I've reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We'll just slip the word to them that, for God's sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about Communism. We can't restrain him when he's angry and he has his hand on the nuclear button and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Ends of Power (1978) by Robert Haldeman p. 83
“I wouldn't put out a statement praising it, but we're not going to condemn it either. [Nixon's comment about the atrocities and genocide committed by the West Pakistan government against Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War]”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971, , and The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide by Gary J. Bass
“On Christmas Eve, during my terrible personal ordeal of the renewed bombing of North Vietnam, which after 12 years of war finally helped to bring America peace with honor, I sat down just before midnight. I wrote out some of my goals for my second term as President. Let me read them to you:”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic.”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No More Vietnams (1987)
“I think most Americans understood that the My Lai massacre was not representative of our people, of the war we were fighting, or of our men who were fighting it; but from the time it first became public the whole tragic episode was used by the media and the antiwar forces to chip away at our efforts to build public support for our Vietnam objectives and policies.”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Convergences (2005) [second edition] by Robert Atwan, [Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 403]
“Now listen here: Printing top secret information. I don't care how they feel about the war. Whether they're for or against it. They can't and should not do this and attack the integrity of government and by God, I'm gonna fight that son of a bitching paper. They don't know what's gonna hit them now.”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: After The New York Times started publishing the Pentagon Papers, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)
“[T]hey who complain, in peace, of the insolence of the populace, must remember, that their insolence in peace is bravery in war.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1760 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Bravery of the English Common Soldiers (1760)
“Among the calamities of war may be justly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates and credulity encourages.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1758 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 30 (11 November 1758)
“Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war—for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics (1969)
“When we say "War is over if you want it," we mean that if everyone demanded peace instead of another TV set, we'd have peace.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: During the Bed-In for Peace in Montreal, Canada (1 June 1969)
“I want you to make love, not war — I know you've heard it before.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems.”
Grace Hopper (1906–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But we must be ready to face any temporary disaster - whether or not brought on by those who will war against us to the knife — if only through such disaster can we attain our goal.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don't forget: our media culture failed to serve the public interest by missing (with a few honourable exceptions) the two biggest stories of our time: the run-up to the Iraq war and the financial meltdown. We've had far too many autopsies and not enough biopsies.”
Arianna Huffington (born 1950) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The paywall is history" The Guardian 11 May, 2009
“The triumph of the industrial arts will advance the cause of civilization more rapidly than its warmest advocates could have hoped, and contribute to the permanent prosperity and strength of the country far more than the most splendid victories of successful war.”
Charles Babbage (1791–1871) first seen 1864 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. xii-xiii; Cited in: Samuel Smiles Industrial biography; iron-workers and tool-makers, (1864) p. 104
“There never was a good war or a bad peace.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) first seen 1783 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Josiah Quincy (11 September 1783)
“War is obsolete. It could never have been done before. Only ten years ago... technology reached the point where it could be done. Since then the invisible technological-capability revolution has made it ever easier so to do.”
Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The poet reciting to Lady Diana While the footmen whisper ‘Have a banana’, The judge enforcing the obsolete law, The banker making the loan for the war,The expert designing the long-range gun To exterminate everyone under the sun, Would like to get out but could only mutter;— ‘What can I do? It’s my bread and butter.’”
W. H. Auden (1907–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he held the proper opinions for the time of year; When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went.”
W. H. Auden (1907–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The problem whether or not a good end justifies bad means seems to arise out of such cases as whether one should lie to a sick man in order to set his mind at rest; or whether one should keep a people in ignorance in order to make them happy; or whether one should begin a long and bloody civil war in order to establish a world of peace and beauty.”
Karl Popper (1902–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the late 1930s, as Britain refused to adapt to the new realities of war, Winston Churchill observed, "The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those in authority should take appropriate precautions to protect our citizens. But we will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks by the President In Photo Opportunity with the National Security Team, September 12, 2001
“This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks on the south lawn of the White House (September 16, 2001)
“[O]ne of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry. It's to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks at Chicago's O'Hare Airport (September 21, 2001)
“The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war. This will require our country to unite in steadfast determination and resolve. Freedom and democracy are under attack.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But we will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms. This morning, I am sending to Congress a request for emergency funding authority, so that we are prepared to spend whatever it takes to rescue victims, to help the citizens of New York City and Washington, D.C. respond to this tragedy, and to protect our national security.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are working hard to convince both the Indians and the Pakis there's a way to deal with their problems without going to war.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Meeting with Alan Greenspan (January 7, 2002)
“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. (June 18, 2002)
“Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress, distinguished guests, fellow citizens. As we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers. Yet the state of our Union has never been stronger.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source